Gender Roles Of Children And Young Adults

One of the main disadvantages of gender roles is the unrealistic expectations they can put on children. Gender roles teach children that they need to act a certain way based on their gender in order to be accepted in society. For example, in “The Color of Children’s Gender Stereotypes”, Rachel Karniol explains a study performed that tested young Israeli children’s preferences when it comes to coloring books. The results of the study showed that boys were less likely to use the color pink when coloring, and they tended to avoid the female-stereotyped illustrations in coloring books while girls used less female-stereotyped colors in the male-stereotyped illustrations (Karniol 119). Gender roles condition children to think that they are expected to act a certain way. Therefore, if a young boy wanted to color with a pink

I believe that books have one of the greatest influences on children when they are growing up. There are many different genres of books and they all have something different to teach and offer to children. For example, picture books and fictional stories spark imagination in children and teach them creativity while, non-fiction and stories incorporating diversity, teach children about a certain topic and help broaden their horizons. Keeping the importance of all the different genres of books in mind, I chose two articles from the Journal of Children’s Literature pertaining to this subject.

In the research done on “Sex Roles, Pink or Blue: Environmental Gender Stereotypes in the First Two Years of Life,” by Andree Pomerleau, Daniel Bolduc, Gerard Malcuit, and Louise Cossette at the University of Montreal stated that the physical environment of girls and boys will have an impact on the development of specific abilities and activities in children. In the research, three age groups were investigated and given types and colors of toys and have determined that boys prefer sports and large and small vehicles while girls had more dolls and fictional characters. The research proves that boys are more active and aggressive than girls. The research shows that as early as 18 months of age, children are already predisposed by sex stereotypes by their parents.

Study on gender role stereotypes has shown that there are several negative effects of stereotyping. The study on how gender role stereotyping effects children is not as prevalent because most believe that it doesn’t matter, since children are just forming their stereotype so children do not care. However, some psychologists have done some research on it, and from their research found out that children used a mixture of moral and social conventional reasoning

Children learn as early as age two what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl” (Aina & Cameron). This is described as gender identity, a person’s sense of self as male or female. Gender stereotyping emerges hand in hand with the development of gender identity in Early Childhood (Halim). Gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes and activities of males and females. When babies are born they are either put in pink or blue, as they grow up they still maintain the same “gender” colors. As young children start to socialize, they are playing with either “girl” toys or “boy” toys. When they get older they

Gender role expectations are inescapable in our society as we naturally tend to sort humans into categories, the easiest one being gender. Upon first meeting a person, most people automatically classify the other’s gender. With this classification come the inevitable gender role expectations. Even for those who consciously try their hardest not to cloud their perceptions of others based on “traditional” gender role expectations, it is almost impossible not to subconsciously succumb to these expectations that are ingrained in our minds virtually since the day we are born. These expectations often influence how one interacts with another. This is especially important when taking into consideration the effects that gender socialization of children through gendered toys, media, and parental affects child development.

Home life is a core area that can be the biggest influence on ones opinions of gender roles. The content of the article “Parental Influence on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles” written by Susan Witt introduces where stereotypical gender association derives. Gender roles can easily be adopted through the household and when children are placed in an environment where it is easily transmitted through the parents’ then that child will follow their parents’ influences (Witt, par. 1). Schooling, media, and society are also large influences on children at a young age to behave a certain way. Self-concept is also a large chunk of the way children see themselves when they begin to grow and criticism from parents can be a large influence on shaping that child’s perspective (Witt, par. 3).

The role of gender roles/stereotypes in our society has greatly diminished. Only those who cling to the past and who benefit from the oppression of one group believe it is still an important factor in our society. These stereotypes are harmful and create a rift between two groups of people from an early age. Children should grow up without the label a gender chosen for them and away from the toxicity of gender stereotypes and conformities in toys and activities. When kids are treated differently from a young age they grow up under the impression that they are drastically unalike and that one group shouldn’t be like the other.

Gender roles in children’s literature are linked to gender stereotypes. Gender stereotypes have always been a part of society and are seen in almost every aspect

Little bear, little bear, what do you see? I see a feminist children’s book opened up for me. Often some words from children’s books get stuck in our head. We all have our favorites that our mom used to read us when we were younger. Most of the books have a princess getting saved by the prince or monsters hiding in the main character’s closet trying to scare him or her once she falls asleep. All of our childhood books hold a special place in our hearts but as a child, we would have never thought there would be any gender stereotypes or inequality between men and women. Most of the books we read seemed normal to us but as we are studying feminism, one would be surprised by all of the gender stereotypes found in children’s books. Although Little Bear may not be popular to many, Diane Namn portrays gender stereotypes though illustrations, characters, and the plot.

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

I observed three different children’s television programs through watching and listening at times to see how gender roles were portrayed, specifically towards children. The first observation that I made that was consistent throughout each of the different programs where that the females were either: bossy, deceitful, or very gentle. Males that were portrayed within the programs were either: aggressive, confident, or passive. I noticed that when the girls were being bossy (or sassy) they were viewed as “just being girls” rather than mean or acting inappropriately. However, if the boys within the programs were acting assertive (or bossy) they were being portrayed as mean, and acting in an inappropriate way.

I would like to preform a psychological experiment on the effect of gender roles on young children around the age of five-years-old. This experiment would include handing either a young girl a toy car, or giving a young boy a doll to play with and seeing their reaction to what they are given. I would like to do this to be able to tell if a boy or a girl would reject a toy at such a young age just because of the fact that society tells them their not supposed to play with cars or dolls because their either a girl or a boy who is meant to be feminine or masculine. I would like to study the effect of peer groups and well as gender roles because I find both of them very interesting topics. While doing this experiment I would most likely begin with

Throughout childhood and adulthood, we are exposed to gender stereo types. We are first exposed to them when they are very young children. Environment and biology both play roles in how gender stereotyping and gender typed behaviors influence childrens behaviors. Biology plays a large role in influences of behaviors. The sex hormones in a body influence how children play and who they play with. At a young age hormone influences how preschoolers act and play. Children in preschool are affected by their hormones and they tend to play with the same sex children and act the same. Research shows that sex hormones influenced activity level involving what is an appropriate toy to play with and what jobs they can get.

Ever since I could remember, I have been told to “behave like a girl.” This phrase has constantly been repeated by all my family members, friends, and even strangers. At a young age, gender roles can be very confusing. However, society makes sure to place boundaries and acknowledge differences between both roles and sexes. Even before we are born, as soon as our sex is discovered we are given a gender role and colors that we are supposed to wear in order for society to distinguish us as either a boy or a girl. Girls must wear pink and “girly” colors such as pastel colors and boys must wear blue or neutral colors. Girls are also supposed to play with dolls and their accessories such as kitchen sets reinforcing the idea at a very young age that girls are traditionally housewives. On the other hand, boys must play with “manly” toys that show how tough and manly they are, such as guns, sports cars etc. From our infancy, we all receive gender roles that we must possess in order for us to fit into society. Our family also plays an important part in these roles since they are the main ones who encouraging us to follow those roles. As soon as a parent sees that their little child is not following the gender role that society expect they “freak out.”